Sunny Days are here!!

Today was meant to be a work on art day, but the sun streaming in my windows beckoned me.
I was sitting on my computer since I woke up, trying to catch up on various classes and art groups that I am a part of, and could feel my stress level rising. It was becoming too much, trying to participate in groups, update photos, and so on....
Oh, and as if I didn't have enough to work on, I went and joined another online class last night! Yeah, so who is to blame for my stress? :-)

So I took a little break, and sat in the sun, with my folder of art ideas. The goal was to organize myself, so that I would know what to work on today. There is nothing like a little sunshine to melt the stress away :-D

I've been working on a new painting which I started two weeks ago. I haven't touched it since then, because I am afraid of making a wrong move and ruining it. I know this is not what art is supposed to be about, and that we should enjoy the process and not worry about the end result, but I can't seem to move forward. The last time I was stumped like this was 2 years ago with my Frida's Day of the Dead painting. It took me 2 years to get back to it, change it's direction, and it ended up being my most popular print.

I have no desire to put this one aside for two years, so I will just jump in after I finish my blog post. The painting you see with this post is a sneak peek of the background. Now let's see what I can do with it :-)


*******I thought I'd ask this question here, even though it has nothing to do with art...my father is 70 and he has what appears to be rosacea, even though I have read the info, and it generally happens to light skinned women under 50. If anyone out there could suggest any natural remedies it would be greatly appreciated. He has had laser a couple of years ago, but it came back worse, and the creme the dermatologist gave him burns, and it too made it worse. I gave him coconut oil to try since it is anti inflamatory. Symptoms are, red blotches on skin, especially on his cheeks and nose, and acne. I feel bad for him, he is leaving for a 2 month vacation, and his skin looks awful. Thanks everyone!

Just a quick update...

I had planned to update my blog for the last 3 days now, and something has always come up. It's been a wonderful 3 day weekend for us in Canada. I had high hopes of getting lots of art done, but unfortunately was not able to. Am I the only one who feels time slipping away??

I did manage to change the look of my blog though, the checkered pattern on the side seems to suit me better than my last background, and I updated my music player. So if you scroll down a bit and look on the right hand side, you will see my new oldies playlist (I just realized how silly new oldies sounds, haha!). I can't help it, I love older music! If you do too, click the play button, sit back and enjoy :-D

Lately I have been working more on my ACEOs - for those who don't know what they are, they are little artworks on paper no bigger than a playing card. The above painting of a momma cat and her kittens is an ACEO. I finished it yesterday. Also when looking through my Photobucket album, I found this mermaid ACEO I sold a long time ago. I thought it would be fun to show it.


As I sat down earlier to finally update my blog, I had a call from a friend who lost her sister's dog. She had just left my house with him, when a large dog, not on a leash, scared him. He bolted free of his collar and leash, and she was frantically trying to chase him. She called us, and we drove around for hours trying to locate him. He is a sweet little dog, part jack russel terrier, and is not from the city. I was praying we would find him before dark, but no luck. What a sad way to end the evening, all I can think of is this poor little dog all alone in an unfamiliar area. I am hoping for some good news tomorrow. People are basically kind , so hopefully someone will see him and call the humane society.

I guess that's it for now, the other things I wanted to blog about will have to wait. The stress of worrying about a lost pet left me too exhausted, I know you animal lovers will understand.

*****Update: I am happy to say that my friend's lost dog was found sleeping in someone's back yard, completely exhausted, but safe :-)

Happy Mother's Day!

I wanted to wish all the moms out there a happy Mother's Day. I hope you are treated like gold today. I am so grateful to have my mother close by. As the years go by I appreciate her more. It's funny, because I never thought I would get to this stage. We didn't get along when I was younger, but now I see why she was the way she was. She and my father retired several years ago, and I am happy that they now have more joy and peace in their lives. Within 2 days of arriving in Canada, not even able to speak English they both went to work in order to support us. I was almost 3 at the time. After many years working in a factory, in a horrible environment, my mother is finally able to relax, tend to her garden, read, and walk the new puppy.

I applaud all you mothers out there. It is without question, the most difficult job in the world. Bless you for all you do.

The painting on the right is one of my favorites. I painted her in the bleak month of March, when I needed some pretty spring colors. I am finally getting around to listing her. She looks like a Blythe doll because that was my intention. I am a huge fan of Blythe, and Pullip dolls, and own a few. I will be doing more paintings based on my beauties in the future. Yes, famous last words, haha! I have planned out another American girl painting, since I miss the one I sold last year. This one will be better I hope :-D

have a great day everyone!

Some thoughts about copyright

I wasn't planning on writing a post on copyright but felt compelled to do so. Just to make it clear, this is not about any particular issue or person, these are just my thoughts over watching what has been happening in the art world the last year or so.

With the internet, and our access to so many art sites, we are becoming paranoid about what we can and cannot paint. We are so fearful that we may be accused of copying an idea that someone else had, that we go out of our way to change our art until it becomes unnatural to us. If someone has added stripes to a folk art angel, we are afraid to add stripes to our folk art angel in case we get accused of copying them. I am not talking about blatant copying of an artist's work, obviously that is copyright infringement and should not happen. But a true artist wants to find their own style. They will take what they learn from classes and books, and put their own spin on it.


There is nothing that hasn't been done before. For instance, I created a series of ACEOs more than a year ago with a very specific subject matter and style(I won't give details here). These can be found online so I can prove when I did them. Last month, I saw 2 separate artists with the exact same idea as me, and one even used the same title I used for their series. One is a hugely successful Ebay artist, and I would never accuse her of copying me! Of course her skill level is much higher than mine, but the point is, nothing is truly original. I do not for one second think she was surfing the net, came across my amateurish art, and copied it. It was simply a co-incidence. She came up with the exact same idea as me. Now what worries me is if I continue this series which I plan to, someone may start harassing me and accusing me of copying her!!! Holding our cards side by side, you will know which ones are mine, and you will recognize hers easily, but she came up with this idea a year after I did mine. So what do you think of this little problem? If we have to constantly worry about stuff like this, we will feel stifled, and lose our love of creating.

How on earth do we get around this?

Let me repeat again, this post is not about any specific person. I only wrote this after seeing discussions over the last year about copyright.

Good Lord this is a long post, forgive me!

(the painting of Dorothy and Toto is one of my older works, I need to get back to that series soon!)

***UPDATE: After reading some comments, I'm afraid my post wasn't very clear. I was not complaining that someone copied me. As far as I know, no one has done this.
I have no problem with people copying other artists when they are learning, teachers tell you to do this. So you new budding artists out there, practice practice practice! learn from all sources, but make it your own. If you work on it enough, you will see your own style developing. Just don't copy one artists style completely, and try to sell it off as your own, this is where you will get yourself in trouble. I'm not an authority on this, so if you have any questions, please check out copyright laws. I promise no more confusing posts from me :-D
blessings,
betty

And the winner is.....

Drumroll please...................

the winner of my giveaway for any print from my Etsy shop is :

Quelleheure4!

Thank you so much everyone who participated, I wish you could all win!
I will be doing more giveaways, so just keep checking :-)

Time for a Giveaway

Hello bloggers and friends! I haven't updated in a couple of weeks as I have been working on other things, including some art. Nothing new to show, but I do have a few projects on the go, including a mermaid ACEO that is almost finished.

Today I hit a milestone, 100 followers!! YAY! So I thought this would be a good time to tell you all how much I appreciate you. Every one of you means so much to me, my fellow artists, bloggers, and readers. I read each one of your comments, and thank you for your friendships. Even you silent readers out there are awesome! :-D

So I would like to have a little giveaway. What is the prize? How about I let you choose any print from my Etsy shop?
I thought this would be fair, since everyone has different tastes.
Everyone is eligible to win, you don't have to do anything special, simply leave a comment on this thread. For those without blogs make sure I can reach you by leaving an email address. I will draw a name on April 30th, and contact the winner.
Good luck, and thank you again for reading my blog!

**************
Another thing I would like to mention, this has nothing to do with the giveaway, but I came across a thread on Etsy started by a woman concerned with the rapid decline in bird populations. I happen to be a huge bird lover, and looked at the petition she linked to for the National Audubon Society. I thought I would add a link here for anyone who loves birds and would like to add their name to the petition:
http://audubonaction.org/campaign/birdsandclimate
There is also a video from the CBC's 'The National' you can watch that talks about it in more detail : http://rawstory.com/rawreplay/?p=372

What a shame for the future generations to grow up not knowing the joy of birds. I'm afraid it's happening to our honeybees as well :-(

Here come the Sugar Bugs!

These strange looking little bugs with girls faces have been so much fun to make! I named them sugar bugs, because I thought they were too cute!
It has been a while since I painted some ACEOs -for any of you who don't know what these are, they are tiny works of art, the size of playing cards (2.5" x 3.5"). They are quite popular, and very collectible.

After working on my girls painted on wood, I needed a break, and these characters came about when I was drawing in my sketchbook. I drew the faces, and for fun, added these bug bodies. I forgot how much fun it was to work this small. If you haven't tried ACEOs, go for it! There is lots of info on the net, or just ask, I would be happy to give you more info. Be warned though, once you start, you will get addicted. I have now finished 6 of these sugar bugs, and want to get back to doing my mermaids. It never ends.... :-D

Alice and the Cheshire kittys

yes, kittys, as in more than one...look inside her basket and you will see two smiling cheshire kittens, and the proud papa peeking from behind her dress. What the heck, I have painted so many girls over the years carrying their tiny pets, so why shouldn't Alice have some too?
Sorry for the poor picture, I had to photograph it because my stupid scanner is a fraction of an inch too short.

If you haven't worked on wood, you don't know what you are missing! I love woodburning, and painting goes on so much smoother than on canvas. I have seen some artists work on watercolor paper, but I have found it difficult to paint on paper. The brush seems to drag, and feels dry all the time. I will have to do a bit of research to see how to get around this.

I know a lot of you love art supplies just like me, have you heard of Pan pastels? Oh my goodness, I really want these! I want them all! they are so pricey though...Click on the 'techniques' and check out the video. Smooth like butter! Right now I have a shelf full of various pastels, which I have rarely used, and yet, a new product shows up and I'm dreaming about it. No wonder I'm running out of room, lol!

My Little Grungy Girl

It has been such a long time since I made a folk art painting, I thought I should do something a bit different. It was interesting working on this, I didn't quite know what to do with my background, so I dirtied it up, and gave it a shabby primitive look. If you were to see how many sketches of folk art girls I have in my folders, I think you would be shocked. Dozens of them waiting to be born, but alas, they will have to wait. Too many things to do, so little time!!!

Meanwhile, I just finished my newest mixed media Alice painting, after many, many hours! One day I should keep track of the hours I spend on each painting, it would be interesting to know how long they take. If I could stop being so finicky about every little detail, I am sure I would get more done. Anyway, I will show her either tomorrow or the next day, once she is scanned.

Dreamboat Annie

Here is the first of the two paintings that have given me a hard time! This one is inspired by one of my favorite singers, Ann Wilson of Heart. I copied the dress she wears in one of the videos on Youtube I found. I think if I were to re-do this painting, I would make her face cuter. These whimsical style paintings are so much fun to do, but I'm thinking at some point I need to practice painting more realistically.

I loved Heart way back in the 70's and still think their music is relevant.
Yes I know I am dating myself, but I am so grateful that I was a child of the 70's. It was so different from today's lifestyle. No computers, texting, cell phones....we played outside with our friends, and only came in for dinner. I remember how me and my best friend looked forward to the carnival coming to town, with cotton candy, ferris wheel, and music...and we were allowed to walk there alone without our parents.
There was no fear of the sun, we never even heard of sunscreen. It's funny, but for all the times I spent outside, I never once got a sunburn. Can you tell I'm feeling nostalgic?

A little Heart for your listening pleasure....

I have the best intentions to blog more often but it doesn't seem to work out that way. So now that I am here, I would like to take the time to thank two bloggers. First, Mixed Media Martyr for the Marie Antoinette award a couple of weeks back. I so appreciate you thinking of me!

I'd would also like to thank Fotf from Ivy's Attic for awarding me with another Kreativ Blogger award! I am always touched to receive any kind of recognition :-)

Now staying true to form, I can't nominate 7 blogs, since there are far too many I admire to be able to pick a few. A look at my blog list, and the blogs I follow will show you that there are many deserving people out there.
Thank you both for thinking of me.

Flying angels, and movies...

Sometimes you go through phases where you just don't feel like doing anything creative. That would be me the last couple of weeks, it doesn't mean I 'm not painting, just that what I do paint isn't turning out how I 'd like. The above angel took me days to complete! I just didn't know what to do with her, so I would do a bit here and there, and would leave it for the next day. She is done now, and I have another 2 paintings on the go, and neither of them are working as imagined. Oh well, guess you got to go with the flow.

This previous week has been a lazy one for me. I watched more TV than the last few months put together! It started with the series 'The Tudors' which I kept reading good things about. I watched the entire series in 2 days! Of course I never miss American Idol, and I watched Grease, Ghost, Music within, and some other forgettable romantic movie....

Last weekend me, my friend, and my sister watched Twilight, which I had been looking forward to for a while now. (I love vampire movies!). I enjoyed it! But I can see another crop of young girls now pining away for moody, sullen boys who are dangerous, and who pretend not to like them. This is how it begins...it happens to a lot of us, we are young, and impressionable, and we get our ideas of how a relationship looks like through movies, and not all of them are good! For most of my life I thought I would find my 'prince charming', you know, the perfect man who understands you. Never happened, I only wish I hadn't wasted all my youth pining over men who never noticed me, lol! Anyway I digress....

After I finish this blog post I will make another cup of coffee and continue working on the 2 new girls I started yesterday. They are not flowing like my usual paintings, I have to think about every step. I won't show a sneak peak right now, however, I will tell you that they are part of a new series titled 'Legends'.
You will see the first one soon, unless I get so fed up I
destroy it :-)

Red hot Frida, and random musings....

Here is the rest of the painting from last week's sneak peek. She is not actually called Red Hot Frida, I just can't think of a name for the painting right now...you can't tell in this pic but that is a crow she holds in her hands, and there is an outline of a bird cage in her skirt. I have never used this much red in a painting, and I really love it! I don't know why I was so afraid to go bold, it seems to work nicely in this painting. I just added a print of her in my Etsy shop.

It's late but I actually have some energy right now, so thought I'd update my blog. I'm so happy that some of you have found last week's health tips useful. I am always willing to expand on a topic, or share more details.

I'd like to mention a group of exercises that I've known about for many years called the 5 Tibetans.
I started doing these again last week, and have felt so much more lively, and more positive. I can't be sure these exercises are the cause, but they are the only thing I have done differently.
These exercises are said to work your whole body, help trim your waist, increase your energy, and so much more. They work because they focus on your spine, which is where your kundalini energy resides. I won't bore you with details, but if you click here , there are some animated instructions that show how to do them. Unfortunately they move pretty fast, but at least you get an idea of what each exercise should look like. Please do not do these if you have any health issues until you speak to your doctor. Always start slow, and listen to your body. Click here for more info from google if this is something you are interested in.
Oh, did I mention they can be done in less than 5 minutes?

Last week I said I would share healthy salad recipe with you, so here it is...there is no 'recipe' you need to follow, but here are the basics, and you adjust as you like.

Main ingredients: raw beets, carrots, radicchio(small red lettuce) parsley, and pineapple chunks. Chop everything, and place in a bowl, then you add as many of the following ingredients as you like: dried cranberries, walnuts, pecans, almonds, sunflower seeds,and pumpkin seeds (I love it sweet so I add dried mango) Sprinkle olive oil on top, stir, then add red wine vinegar, or balsamic (I use a bit of both). Add some feta cheese on top, and finish off with ginger powder.

Super easy! and look at some of the ingredients, they are nutritious powerhouses! I try to make this my main meal a couple of times a week...

that's it for now, I don't want to write a novel, lol! Always happy to hear your thoughts :-)

Yet another Frida....and some health tips...

After last week, I felt like doing another Frida painting, and here is a sneak peak for now...I will put up the rest later in the week. I can't seem to get a good scan of it.

I was hoping to finish a folk art painting tonight. A friend asked me to help her walk 3 dogs, and I thought, why not, the exercise will be good for me too, then I can come home energized, and finish my painting. Well, the dogs ended up walking, or running us, lol! I can barely move, but I have to say it felt so exhilarating to move again. I have been a lazy slug the last few months, but I am ready to re-commit to exercise.

I've always wanted to add some health tips to my blog, rather than just talk art. I want people to take control of their health, and not wait for some time in the 'future' to start...So here are a few things to try out...

First thing I do every morning, and have done for over 10 years, is warm up some water in a kettle - do not let boil, and add 1 teaspoon honey and approx 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar for each mug, and enjoy. There are many benefits to this, as ACV is considered a wonder drug...click here to see some articles on google. I love the taste, and never miss a day. (I use Bragg's brand, but any organic brand found in a health food store should do).

-Walk every day, at least 20 minutes, it is for your heart, and lungs, and keeps your body fluid. More is better, but 20 minutes is a great start. You feel refreshed, and after a bit of time, will most likely notice some weight loss.

-drink more water...here is an idea: Add cut strawberries, raspberries and a slice or two of orange in a big pitcher of water. Just let it steep, and drink it throughout the day.

-get more greens in your diet, preferably local, because they don't need to travel long distances to get to your table. The best thing you can do for your health is to eat more fresh produce, especially a big salad daily.

-eat oatmeal for breakfast. I know someone who works with cosmetic surgeons, and she asked them about their eating habits. Every one of them has steel cut oatmeal for breakfast. These are people who care about skin.
-Here are some suggestions: Steel cut oatmeal is the one you want, or Scottish oatmeal. I cook with half an apple, then add almond milk, cinnamon (helps your blood sugar level),a few walnuts, half a banana, and any berries on hand. Delicious!

-avoid wheat and sugar if you are a woman over 40, it helps cause that lovely jelly belly. Try rye bread instead. If you have a sweet craving, like me most days, I read that a spoon full of peanut butter or any protein cuts the craving. It works for me.

-take your vitamin D! lots of research coming out about the benefits, this is the sun vitamin....we don't get enough of it because we have been told to stay out of the sun. Do some research or ask your doctor how much to take.

-consider using the spice 'turmeric', lots of info about the health benefits, click here to see some google search results I found.

-I almost forgot, get more sleep! It seems obvious, but most people do not get enough sleep at night. I read that it's so important especially if you have stress, and who doesn't.

I see that I could go one for many pages, so I better stop now, lol! If I can find my recipe for a super anti-oxidant salad I will share it later.

feel free to share any health tips you have, we need to start looking after ourselves, and this beautiful body that houses our soul.

blessing!

Finally Frida

I finally finished this painting, which was started two and a half years ago! It was meant to be a Day of the Dead painting. I wish I had taken a photo of what this looked like before I started. It's interesting to see how your style changes over time. This face is much smoother than what I was capable of doing back then. The background, I changed completely, thanks to new techniques I picked up in some classes. Frida is delicate and young looking, and the background is shabby, and grungy. I thought it was a nice contrast. I just put her up for sale in my Etsy shop, as I have too many originals sitting around. Maybe some Frida fan will appreciate her :-D

I had lots more to blog about, but it will have to wait. I'm in the middle of re-organizing my messy art space. It is hard to work on art when there are bits of paper, and all sorts of supplies lying around. Every mixed media artists will understand this :-D

I'm excited about some new folk art paintings I am planning. So many ideas, so little time!

I'd like to give a big thank you to the sweet Stacey, for giving me a Kreativ blogger award! Check out her blog here for a lovely treat.

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend!

The lonely Mermaid

So much for working on my Cinderella painting, I got side tracked :-)
I used to paint mermaids all the time, especially ACEOs, and haven't done one in a while, so here is my latest, a poor lonely mermaid, with no one to play with.

Looking through my unfinished canvases I found a Frida painting I started two Halloweens ago. Back then I was happy with the face, but now it looks too rough. I stopped because I didn't know how to get the background that was in my imagination on the paper. I still can't, I am working on it though. I want to be like those artists that can put so much detail in their art. How do they do it? I wonder if they use reference photos? I'm sure I am not alone when I say this is one of the most frustrating parts of creating art. Your head is filled with beautiful images, but you just don't know how to get them on canvas, so the viewer can see what you see.

Speaking of beautiful images, have you ever been ready to drift off to sleep, when a fantastic image pops into your head? I've had ideas I would never imagine, and wonder, where do they come from?